Description

A concise version of the guidance in the ITIL 2011 core volume Service Transition, endorsed by itSMF International.

Each ITIL®Key Element Guide provides an overview of each of the five elements of the ITIL® service lifecycle, and is written by the same team which wrote the main ITIL® core titles. Key Element Guide: ITIL Service Transition, 2011 Edition offers a concise summary of the contents of ITIL® 2011 Service Transition, reducing the core volume to its salient points.

The purpose of the service transition stage of the service lifecycle is to ensure that new, modified or retired services meet the expectations of the business as documented in the service strategy and service design stages of the lifecycle.

ITIL 2011 Service Transition provides guidance on:

the development and improvement of capabilities for transitioning new and changed services into supported environments, including release planning, building, testing, evaluation and deployment;

service retirement and transfer of services between service providers;

how to ensure the requirements from service strategy are effectively realised in in service operation while controlling the risks of failure and subsequent disruption;

managing the complexity associated with changes to services and service management processes;

allowing for innovation while minimising the unintended consequences of change;

introducing new services;

changes to existing services (e.g. expansion, reduction, change of supplier, acquisition or disposal of sections of user base or suppliers, change of requirements or skills availability);

decommissioning and discontinuation of services, applications or other service components.

Summary of updates

The concepts in ITIL 2011 have been updated for clarity and consistency, without affecting the overall message, ensuring every stage of the service lifecycle remains focused on the business case, and relates to all the companion process elements that follow. ITIL 2011 is fully aligned with MSP®, M_o_R®, PRINCE2® and P3O.

There is particular focus on aligning service design with service strategy.

A number of concepts and principles have been clarified, most significantly the flow and management of activity throughout the overall service design stage with the addition of the design coordination process.

Other significant clarifications include the five aspects of service design, the design of the service portfolio and the terminology related to views of the service catalogue.